SapuraKencana, Seadrill in pact to merge rig businesses

11/5/2012

SapuraKencana, Seadrill in pact to merge rig businesses

BY JASON NG

KUALA LUMPUR -- SapuraKencana, a Malaysian oil and gas service provider, plans to acquire rigs owned by SeaDrill for an enterprise value of $2.9 billion, as part of plans to merge the companies' rig businesses.

The combined business under SapuraKencana will own 16 rigs, mostly deployed in Southeast Asian waters, with another five currently under construction, SapuraKencana and Seadrill said in a joint statement filed to the Malaysian stock exchane. The rig businesses had an order backlog worth $1.55 billion at the end of October, the companies said.

One of the main objectives of the transaction is to develop a strong leading player in the Far East market, the statement said.